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Photo Information

Tri-Command service members participated in the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony at the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, Nov. 11. The event honored Beaufort’s veterans and active duty service members.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Brendan Roethel

Beaufort honors vets during Veterans Day

15 Nov 2013 | Lance Cpl. Brendan Roethel Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort

Tri-Command service members participated in the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony at the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, Nov. 11.

The event honored Beaufort's veterans and active duty service members. During the parade, the streets were lined with people crying and cheering as the color guard and veterans paraded through the streets. After the parade, an estimated 200 people were in attendance for the ceremony, including members of every branch of service.

"The service of our young veterans will be recognized and remembered as time goes on," said Lt. Col. Patrick Fitzgerald, the executive officer for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. "We must never forget the sacrifices of our veterans and their families. As Lincoln once said, 'a nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.’"

Alongside Fitzgerald, Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds, the commanding general for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Navy Capt. Anne Lear, the commanding officer for Naval Hospital Beaufort, represented the Tri-Command.

The event had various other guest speakers, to include veterans and town officials. During the ceremony Elizabeth Santagati, the mistress of ceremonies for the event and an Army veteran, discussed the importance of Veterans Day and the sacrifices made by service members every day.

"Veterans Day is a day to remember both those living and those who made the ultimate sacrifices for our country," Santagati said. "Many have laid down their lives, while others were imprisoned, tortured, or went missing. It is to these men and women, our nations heroes, we owe our thoughts and prayers."

At the ceremony there was a prisoner of war, missing in action symbolic display and wreath laying ceremony to commemorate those that passed away, were POW’s or went missing in action.

A veteran, regardless of their branch of service, made a decision to put their life on the line in the defense of the freedoms we currently possess. It Is because of their constant sacrifices and willingness to serve that the American people have the freedom to say, think, and believe anything they choose, and for that they are honored.